Rihanna
Rihanna covers GQ GQ

Barbadian beauty Rihanna is gracing the latest cover of GQ, but you may not quite recognize her at first glance. The 25-year-old looks like she never has before, adorned with snakes on her head and a boa constrictor around her shoulders.

Rihanna channels Greek mythology’s Medusa, who was a monster with the face of a human female and deadly snakes in her hair. When people looked at her they would turn to stone. While the pop icon is certainly no monster, she does look more deadly than usual.

British GQ is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and went with a non-traditional shoot with Rihanna, who also wore green eye contacts with black slits for a reptilian look for her latest spread. Damien Hirst, one of the world’s most highly acclaimed living artists, was in charge of the shoot.

Rihanna
Rihanna covers GQ Tumblr

Rihanna last covered GQ in November 2012, wearing only a cropped motorcycle jacket across her shoulders and a necklace.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Rihanna got a new tattoo that is a reminder of her tumultuous relationship with Chris Brown, according to the tattoo artists Inia Taylor and Tiki Taane. While in New Zealand on her “Diamonds” tour, the singer got a traditional Polynesian tattoo design on her right hand. The ink is filled with various ancient symbols.

“I didn’t realize she had such a hard time," Taylor said. "Apparently she had such an a**hole of a boyfriend, she said. The tattoo is just a reminder of the things in the past. Lord knows, she overcame a lot of that s**t. It’s not about getting a tattoo, it’s a ceremony. Tattoos aren’t fashion. They are a way to get rid of pain in your life. You have to create pain to get over pain.”

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